It had been quite some time since Twilight set foot in Canterlot High. She had graduated three years early as a valedictorian, and Principal Celestia had regarded her as her most prized pupil, and most faithful student. This was evident in the old yearbook Twilight had back at her lab which designated her as "Most Likely to Succeed," and the quite embarrassing, "Principal's Pet."
"This place sure brings back some memories," she said to herself, Spike quietly following along as Twilight's eyes darted around the school's exterior. She passed the statue of the giant unicorn, unknowingly passing the portal which linked Equestria with this universe.
She and Spike walked in, immediately greeted by a good number of students: mingling, hanging out, chatting amongst themselves. A few eyes were put on her in scrutiny.
"Why's everybody looking at me?" Twilight asked herself.
She approached the trophy case and saw her reflection: the pencil in her bun, her disheveled hair, her sleepy-looking eyes, her large black-lined glasses, her wrinkled clothes.
Twilight gasped at a volume not loud enough for anyone else but herself to hear, and promptly began tidying herself up. She pulled the pencil out of her hair, and did her best to make herself more formidable by shuffling her hair around so it was straighter. The job she did was not great, but she sighed gently and continued down one of the halls to Principal Celestia's office.
"If memory serves," she whispered to Spike, who trotted along the ground below, "her office should be right down this-"
Twilight bumped into a tall, light-orange-skinned young man with a guitar on his back, with spikey blue hair and pants that looked one size too big, and a black jacket over a white T-shirt that had the CHS logo on it. She fell to the ground.
"Oh, sorry, miss- Twilight?" the young man gave a surprised expression.
Twilight rubbed the spot on her head where she collided with the student.
"W...what?" she asked.
The student kneeled and outstretched his hand. "Twilight, are you okay?"
"Uh...I think so," she replied, shaking her head. She took the student's hand and let him help her up to her feet. "How did you know my name is Twilight?"
The student looked perplexed. "Uh, we've met before," he scratched the back of his neck. "We went to the Fall Formal together."
Now it was Twilight who was perplexed. "Fall Formal?" she pondered. "I never went to any Fall Formal - I was at my home studying."
"I'm pretty sure you were there," the student reached into his back pocket, retrieved a wallet, and showed Twilight a picture of the two of them doing an admittedly unusual dance. "See?"
Twilight scrutinized the photograph. The girl in the picture was definitely her: the same royal-purple bangs, the same purple-and-pink stripes down the middle of her hair, and a simple yet tasteful dress that she could easily see herself wearing.
"That's me!" she exclaimed.
"Of course it's you!" the young man nodded once. "Who else would it be? Do you...not remember? Does the name Flash Sentry mean anything to you?"
"Flash Sentry..."
Twilight was known for her idetic memory: she could memorize anything she wanted to - especially faces, names, and important events. She knew in her heart that she would have remembered the Fall Formal had she gone; the name Flash Sentry would have stuck with her, the goofy dance would have been registered into her memory banks. But when she searched her mental databse for anything relevant, all she got were blanks.
She shook her head. "Uh-uh. I'm pretty sure I would've remembered you."
The young man by the name of Flash Sentry gasped in horror. "I...guess that the Fall Formal wasn't that important to you, then?" he put his hands in his pockets and dug his foot into the linoleum. "Because if it was, you would've remembered me."
Twilight shrugged. "I'm sorry, but...I was only here at Canterlot High for one year, and I didn't attend the Fall Formal."
Flash Sentry frowned and started to turn away. "I guess I'll see you later, then, Twilight," he said, beginning to stroll away, but then stopped suddenly to add: "By the way, those glasses look very befitting on you. Make you look like a scientist, but..."
Twilight anticipated Flash to finish his sentence.
Flash sighed and slowly disappeared as he wandered down the hall. "Never mind..."
Twilight wanted to say something - anything - to get Flash Sentry's attention, but nothing came to mind. She watched in silent remorse.
"Come in," said Principal Celestia, her face buried in a file.
Twilight entered the room, not knowing the reaction that her principal would give after seeing her again.
"Can I help you?" Principal Celestia inquired, not seeing the familiar face.
"Um, yeah, you can-"
Not two syllables into Twilight's sentence did Principal Celestia recognize the voice. She dropped the file on her desk in awe, and confirmed that the person she was talking to was in fact Twilight Sparkle.
"Twilight!" she joyfully exclaimed, rising from her desk and approaching the young lady. "What a surprise! Love the glasses."
Even though it was not professional of her to do, Principal Celestia gave her ex-pupil a hug. "What brings you back to CHS? Did the girls write to you?"
"What? Uh, no, Principal Celestia. I'm here for important business."
"And what business might that be?"
"Something very strange is going on at this school - and I intend to find out what it is."
Principal Celestia returned to her seat behind her desk. "Well I'm glad you've brought this to my attention," she began. "Canterlot High can't afford another disaster."
"Disaster?" Twilight exclaimed.
Principal Celestia nodded. "Don't you remember? First time you came here, you stopped Sunset Shimmer from taking over the world - including the army of zombies she created by brainwashing all the students here with some sort of magical power. Then a vocal group called the Dazzlings showed up and utilized the magic from you and your friends to-"
"My friends?" Twilight asked. "I don't have any friends!"
"Nonsense!" Principal Celestia gave a grin. "Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash. Not to mention the newest member of your troupe: Sunset Shimmer."
"Didn't you just say she was trying to take over the world?"
"She did," Principal Celestia explained. "But you and your friends defeated her using the magic of friendship if I recall. She pleaded for you to take her in and forgive her for her behavior - which you did. And now she's one of you. She's a lot like you, actually, Twilight: an Honor Roll student here at CHS who's learning about the magic of friendship. I guess that's why you two get along so well now."
"Oh..." Twilight scratched the back of her neck in confusion. What Principal Celestia was saying did not make any sense to her. "So...strange things were happening, here, weren't they, Principal Celestia?"
"Well, I wouldn't necessarily use the word 'strange' for these conflicts, but I would say they were quite unusual, yes," Principal Celestia answered. "Don't you remember, Twilight?"
Twilight shook her head. "Not a thing, ma'am."
"Hmm. Maybe because you're sleep-deprived?"
"Sleep-deprived?"
"You look very tired, Twilight. Have you been sleeping at all?"
"Not in a while, ma'am. I've been up studying this place, researching."
Principal Celestia gave a gentle smile. "There's nothing of the matter, Twilight. You probably just don't remember much because you're sleep-deprived. I know that you know that memories are formed when you sleep, and your subconscious filters out what to keep and what not to keep. Go get some rest."
"Oh, uh...OK, Principal Celestia," Twilight started to back away. "I'll see you later, then."
Principal Celestia rose from her chair once more and started towards the door. "You're welcome to come back anytime you like, Twilight," she said.
Twilight knew what Principal Celestia was about to say, and said in unison with her, "My door is always open."
Twilight giggled, and Principal Celestia grinned. "Have a good rest, Twilight."
Twilight met up with Spike once she was out of sight of her ex-principal, grabbing him and carrying him out of the school with her. She knew that, though sleep would be helpful, it wasn't the solution for which she was looking. She knew there was something else going on at this school. She did not suspect that Principal Celestia was lying or misinforming her by saying that everything at Canterlot High was alright, but she did believe that her principal was mistaken. And she would stop at nothing to prove it.
"There's no doubt about it, Spike," Twilight said, staring attentively at her bulletin board, which she had cluttered with graphs and charts and snipets of phenomena she could not quite explain, "something very strange is definitely going on at that school."
Spike barked.
Twilight scratched at her chin and sighed, pulling up a swivel chair and taking a seat in front of her board. "At first, I thought it was nothing," she continued in a biased conversation with her purple pet dog. "But then there was this uprise in what appeared to be magic. I started investigating, but by the time I had finished making my checklist, whatever was happening seemed to have passed. Must've been fleeting in nature, only lasting for a day or two..."
Spike heard the word 'checklist' and scampered off into the other corner of the dimly lit room, and retrieved a long sheet of paper for his owner. He made a whining sound.
Twilight looked down and saw the small dog at her feet. She gave a slight grin and took the paper from her pet's mouth with one hand, and petted him with the other.
"Good boy," she said quietly. She leaned back in her chair and studied the list...
~~Remember to make checklist~~
~~Get extra reams of paper~~
~~Buy pushpins~~
~~Go to library~~
~~Check out books on magic~~
~~Feed Spike~~
The list went on from there.
Twilight's vision started to fade as she reread her to-do list. She drifted off for a moment, but the sound of her snoring jolted her awake. She yawned and averted her eyes back to her bulletin board.
"C'mon, Spike," she began, rising to her feet. "We won't learn anything being cooped up in the lab. We've got to see this for ourselves."
Spike barked and followed Twilight out the door.
